Car-coupling.



rrnn TATES 'ATNT FFICE.-

LEVI N. DOBBINS, OF PROGRESS, WEST VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO J. J. STALNAKER, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-COUPLIN'G.

'SPECIFICATION forming part 0f Letters Patent NO. 656,17 9, dated. August 21, 1900.y

Application led September 18, 1899. Serial No. 730,939. (No model.)

To all whom it may concerne.-

Be it known that I, LEVI N. DoBBINs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Progress, in the county of Braxton and State of West Virginia, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Car-Couplers, of which the following is a specication.

My invention relates to car-couplers, and has for its object to produce a simple and practical coupler adapted to be operated from the sides of the cars, thus obviating the necessity of the trainmen standing between the cars in the act of coupling; and it consists of a yoke in which the couplingpin is suspended, a handle or operating-lever pivoted underneath the car and extending alongside of the same, and a series of levers connecting the operating-lever and the yoke carrying the coupling-pin.

In the drawings which accompany and form a part of this application, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a car (broken away) with my invention attached. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. Sisaperspective view of myin-vention assembled and detached from the car. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the link.

Referring to the drawings,1 represents a car of the approved construction, and 2 the coupler, secured in the usual manner to the car and provided with a pin-holder 3, from which extends a stem 4, around which is coiled a spring 5.

6 is a rigid nut secured Withinrthe coupler and provided with an opening through which the stem 4t slides. The outward movement of the stem Ltand holder Sis' limited bymeans of a pin 7, which is secured in an aperture through the stem.

8 is a yoke, the lower ends 9 of which are turned at right angles and iiattened.

10 is the coupling-pin, liattened and split at its upper end, as at l1, to form a groove in which the upper portion of the yoke is secured by means of a pivot-pin 12 in such manner that the pin is free to swing from side to s1 e.

13 is a lever flattened at its ends and provided with bolt -Yopenings in said iiattened ends. This lever, as will be seen from the drawings, is given a slight bend, as at 14, to give greater leverage. One end of said lever is pivoted between the right-angled ends 9 of the pin-carrying yoke and hung at its outer end in an eye 15," secured under the car.v

16 is a rod'or shaft journaled in the strap- 55 bearings 17 underneath the car and provided with operating levers or handles 18, secured to each end close up to the side of the car. This rod `is also provided with a link 19, se-

cured near its center and extending down- 6o wardly from the rod, the extreme forward end of the link being bent at 2O at an angle more clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

In applying the several parts to the car the rod or shaft 16 is iirst secured in place and 65 the lever 13 being secured to the yoke 8 is passed through the link 19 and then secured to the eyebolt 15.

The handles 18 are limited in the upward movement by means of the stops 21, which 7o of the link 10 and the bottom of the yoke is 8o less than the thickness of the head of the drawbar, so that when the yoke has been raised to its fullest extent the end of the pin will still remain in the draw-bar, thereby avoiding the possibility of the link being thrown out of the drawbar by the upward movement of the yoke. By splitting the upper end of the coupling-pin and pivotally securing it to the top piece of the yoke the pin is free to move laterally toward either side, thereby giving it suff- 9o cient play to avoid binding, yet it causes the pin to move freely through the opening in the draw-bar.

The operation is as follows: To secure the pin ready for automatic coupling, the handles 18 are pushed down, thereby revolving the rod or shaft 16 and raising the link 19, which then comes in contact with the lever 13 and pushes it upward, thereby elevating its forward end which carries the yoke 8 and pin 10, roo

thus in turn elevating said yoke and pin to the position shown in Fig. 1, whereupon the pin being removed from its path the block 3 is pushed by the force of the spring 5 across the pin-opening in the coupler. The operating-handle 18 is then elevated to its normal position, (shown in Fig. 1,) whereupon the pin drops upon and is supported in its elevated position by the block 3, thereby holding the yoke and lever 13 in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1. As soon as the link of another car strikes against the block 3 it is pushed backward from under the pin, Whereupon the pin under its own and the weight of the yoke drops and secures the link, thereby coupling the cars, the yoke and lever 13 assuming the positions shown in dotted lines in Fig. l. It Will be observed that the front end of the pin-block 3 is slightly concaved to guide and hold the Coupling-link in a horizontal position in coupling.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In a ear-Coupler the combination with a substantiallyrectangular yoke, the upper end of which is perforated at its middle, and the lower end is open and has its ends perforated and bent at an angle and lying parallel with each other, the sides of the yoke fitting loosely upon the opposite sides of the draw-bar, of a coupling-pin having its head bifurcated and pivotally secured to the yoke at said perforation, a lever pivotally secured at one end between the parallel ends of the yoke and having its opposite end secured beneath the car, and a rock-shaft journaled across under the end of the car, the central portion of which is provided with a link for engaging with the lever and each end is provided with a handle.

LEVI N. DOBBINS.

Vit-nesses:

J. W. CARTRIGHT, J. R. PERKINS. 

